My Analysis (specific observations, no general bashing or pumping)

[AlexDaGator]

If you want to bash or pump, do it elsewhere. Don't hijack this thread. This is for specific observations, not general "he sucks" and "you aren't a real Gator" comments.


1. Preparation/Communication-- One of the problems of the Muschamp era was confusion. The O would take the field not knowing where or how to line up or what the play was. We'd get hit with delay of game penalties or have to take time outs all the time. One of the great improvements we witnessed last year was the end of that nonsense. This first game was a half step back. Not as bad as Muschamp's teams but not as good as what we saw last year. Dunno if they are still getting used to Nuss being on the field or what but this must improve. Last year we had a younger OL and a starting QB with hardly any time in the system. This one is certainly puzzling but I do expect we'll get this right before the UK game.

2. Del Rio-- I thought he would be better. Look at the passes he hit. Typically the receiver would be standing still (or nearly so) waiting for the ball. That won't work against top 50 teams. Good QBs, even freshmen, are able to hit receivers in stride, or throw the ball to a spot and the receiver runs to that spot. Not many of his completions were to receivers at full gallop (the only one I can think of off the top of my head is the TD to Callaway). We made a living at the end of the game hitting Callaway on these little bubble screens and letting him take advantage of the cushion the DBs were giving him. The timing was poor. You could see Callaway waiting and waiting for the ball. Against good teams, we're either going to get him killed or give up a pick 6.

3. Tight Ends-- Where were they? Yeah, I know C'yontai was suspended but what about the rest of them? This was supposed to be a team strength this year. On pure size and athleticism, our TEs should have had a field day against their linebackers (or safeties). While the young WRs learn their craft, the TE position was supposed to help carry the load, spread the field, slow down the rush, etc. I didn't see it. I hope I do see it when C'yontai comes back.

4. Hands-- Why is it so hard to just catch the damn ball? The gloves are sticky as hell.

5. Bryan Cox, Jr.-- I thought he would be better too. I honestly thought this would be a break-out season for him. We saw last year that he has a great motor and good pass rush skills. Didn't see that in game 1. We really missed Alex McCalister coming off the edge. Dumbass went and got himself kicked off the team. We needed him this year, and he needed another year in college to put on some weight and learn some techniques. Cox needs to elevate his game. We know he has it in him, we saw it last year.

6. Anzalone-- This kid has ability. Please stay healthy. Please.

7. Dre Massey-- One of the hallmarks of UF teams is exemplary returners. We always have a kick returner who is a threat to take it back. We were terrible at KO returns last year and Dre Massey was supposed to address that this year. This is especially important for this team given our offensive struggles. Going 80 or 85 yards isn't easy. Starting from the 35 or 40 makes life better. Powell can fill in for Massey in the passing game, but what about KO returns? We need to find a stud. Somebody on this team can be that guy.

8. Flat-- This team came out flat for game one. That happens. Especially against an overmatched opponent. BUT...this wasn't a 12:30 kickoff. This was a night game in the Swamp. The crowd was electric (thanks, SOS). How can you not play with your hair on fire? Was it the rain? Was it UMass? Was it missing Tabor and Lewis? Or did Mac fail to push the right psychological buttons?

I'm looking forward to much improvement in game 2.


Alex.

 

[Gatorbait25]

#1- This is usually the job of the QB. Expect more of the ''fastball'' up tempo this week. Obviously that will help.

#2-Thought he was okay. Not great nor terrible. Pretty average. You hit the nail on the head about hitting guys in stride.
Receivers weren't getting anything after the catch.

#3- Goolsby was dinged going into the game. With Lewis and him I would expect more involvement in the passing game.

#4- Thompson & Fulwood were the main culprits. Ahmad has to spell Callaway at times , so it's something we have to deal with.
Unless Cleveland decides to get his head out of his ass. Early practice reports state he had problem with drops too.

#5- Im sure we will stunt more, and twist the tackles in conference play. Especially when we insert Cece inside on passing downs.

#6- Agreed. He looked great out there. Hopefully we get a full year out of him.

#7- Part of why im not a big fan of having a starting WR or back return kicks. Never have been since Caldwell got hurt in 05.
This also made guys like Brandon James and Debose valuable. I wouldnt mind trying Thompson or Perine here in practice.

I might also add I haven't been impressed with Sherit. I would like to see
Cece in Sherit's place.Swain I feel will be a good one for us going into the future.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

You suck and you arent a Gator.

As for Cox, he has essentially moved positions. He is undersized for weak end --he is really LB size-- but because all we have are about 8 weak/rush ends, they have moved him to strong, where CeCe and Bullard were. Bullard or Ray Mac are fairy prototypical of what you need, a 290lb run stuffer who can also rush the passer some.

He is going to get a lot of double teams or at least chips by TE or a back. The will run right at him alot especially if he cant take the double teams. Frankly, I think he will continue to struggle mightily. The problem is us, not him.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

I too am concerned with LDR not hitting receivers in stride. seems to be an issue.

 

[soflagator]

1) I think 1 and 8 are intertwined. We were flat and seemingly a little unprepared. That's on the staff, but also I think it can just happen.

2) I've given my opinion here, but will say again that LDR was exactly what I expected. Decent, not great, but hopefully will improve. If there's one major concern, imo, it's the possibility that his familiarity and long term relationship with Nuss and Mac may skew their decision to replace him when and if he really struggles. Hope not, but it wouldn't be the first time a coach did that.

3) Never been a fan of the "we're waiting to unveil it against _____" reasoning, but one of the staples of our O last year--with both QBs--was the TE plays, bootlegs, etc. I can only imagine they tried to keep it as basic as possible with Uk coming in.

4) I was so impressed with Fullwood's performance on ST's, I think we should play him there exclusively. Younger guys will be better than WM leftovers.

5) Not concerning per se. Just a quiet night for him I think.

6) Yep. Best LB we have.

7) I don't see it. Bailey's gone. Thompson can't keep it together. Powell is probably the best option.

 

[BNAG8R]

You aren't a real Gator.

Now that I've got that out of my system, let's converse:

1. Somewhat agree - it felt more like we were "safe" the whole time, and "safe" against even a weak opponent results in "meh" results.

2. I thought Del Rio was about what I expected. He reminds me of the QBs Mac had at AL frankly - names you have trouble remembering because they were workman-like. I liked that he didn't turn it over or make bad decisions. His misses were safe misses...but misses nonetheless. That play won't win many of the games we have upcoming, but I fully expect the play to get better too.

3. Didn't Goolsbey have a decent catch? That's the only one I remember.

4. Rain?

5. Concur

6. Please stay healthy - loved him last year before the injury, no reason to not love him this year.

7. I would love to see what Callaway could do with KO returns...but it's just not prudent.

8. Flat might be the right word, but to me it was more "cautious". It was almost as if the direction was "we only lose this game if you do something stupid" and everyone toned it down to make sure they didn't. Of course - that led to a lot of stupid (80 yds worth).

I am optimistic that we will be better prepared, focused, and aggressive in 3 days. We better, or some here might blow a blood vessel.

BNA

 

[Gatorphan]

Great post. I agree with nearly all that was said here.

1. Prep - I thought it was a step back as well. But after watching USC on Thursday, I was counting my lucky stars. Seemed the defense made the crucial errors with blown coverage and PF penalties.
2. LDR - We will find out how much soon, but the rain was a factor. This wasn't just a rain shower, it was dumping hard for long periods.
3. TE's - Agree. Why didn't we attack the middle of the field with any players?
7. Massey - I was skeptical how much Massey would impact the return game. I guess we'll have to wait a year to find out.

I was bummed the Perine fumbled on his first attempt. I wanted him to get a few carries, but that ended his day. The fact that we rotated 4 backs on the first series leads me to believe that we were treating this as a scrimmage.

 

[T REX]

we were treating this as a scrimmage.

Seems like he did that in the bowl game too. Last year new mex st was a scrimmage as well with the rotating QBs. He tries to pull that next year in the opener and Harbaugh will bury him. I'm not sure why we can't figure this stuff out in practice like everyone else.

 

[Gator Fever]

I am curious to see how LDR progresses this week against KY and to see if he can complete passes down the field. KY's weakness is rush defense but they have pretty good secondary players and picked off that Southern Miss QB a few times early in their game so they may test him a little if we try to throw the ball down the field some. I hope we don't get too caught up with the bubble screens etc. because like it was pointed out that isn't going to work against the good teams if you don't have a threat down the field and in the running game.

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I forgot to add earlier, apparently your Johnson had a better night than our Johnson. Where is the analysis of that? Omit nothing.

 

[gatormandan]

I forgot to add earlier, apparently your Johnson had a better night than our Johnson. Where is the analysis of that? Omit nothing.

He wont because the Johnson on the field is Johnson Sr. he is Johnson Jr.... nothing to discuss.

 

[SGG]

As always, Rex comes along to shyt all over the thread.

Great points Alex, as always. I thought we were flat too. Just seemed like no one had any sense of urgency to them. I hope like hell that doesn't carry over to this week.

Del Rio is who we thought he was, a game manager with an average at best arm. Hopefully he keeps the same calmness about him that he exhibited in game one throughout the season. If not, I hope the coaches don't hesitate to make a change.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Alex, Sofla thanx.

Both of you pointed out concerns about LDR that are in the back of my head after last week. Are Mac/Nuss so high on LDR's head knowledge that they are ignoring his athletic shortcomings? He's definitely the teacher's pet and he played a little like Poindexter Saturday. His first start in the rain gives him an excuse for one week but clear weather v KY and we will see what we have.

 

[Slevin]

Alex, Sofla thanx.

Both of you pointed out concerns about LDR that are in the back of my head after last week. Are Mac/Nuss so high on LDR's head knowledge that they are ignoring his athletic shortcomings? He's definitely the teacher's pet and he played a little like Poindexter Saturday. His first start in the rain gives him an excuse for one week but clear weather v KY and we will see what we have.

Could very well be. Almost seemed like it the way they talked about him over the spring/summer. Appleby certainly is more athletic but from what I hear he gets picked off like a happy hour menu at Applebee's

 

[stephenPE]

Slevin, your cryptic wit would be welcome in chat...........

 

[gator1946]

Put every good player we have on defense. When we get the ball back immediately kick a field goal.

 

[oxrageous]

I'm going to withhold any major proclamations until after the Kentucky game this week.

We should crush them. Will we?

 

[G8trwood]

LDR was about what I expected. Don't know if all the stationary receivers were due to all the check downs or slow processing. Could be the plan, but the receivers certainly can't block (following a plan) and many of the routes were not crisp. Hoping for more tempo and communication this game.

Afraid both lines will be problematic:(
Agree on most everything else. Many freshman had the energy we desperately needed and will be playing more. Very concerned at lack of energy as we had that same affliction last year. Too many taking lots of plays off.

I think Mac didn't run the ball more on purpose as he wanted the most qb reps that he could get. The running game has the potential to be really good if folks can block...
As someone in another thread said, it felt like an exhibition game. I hope so and let's get started with the regular season

 

[deuce]

I just have a hard time with how some of you extrapolate the whole season after one miserable, rainy, sloppy, new starter dominated game.

Oh no LDR sucked! But we won handily
We were only up by 3 in the 4th quarter! But we won by 17
Umass sucked last year! But they may not suck this year, no one knows yet
Oh no our OL sucked again! Well, you've got me there
Too many unforced errors! That can be corrected
We were flat! Too much starch in the pre game meal

I think this team needs to play with more sense of urgency, they jog too much.....

 

[InstiGATOR1]

1/8. My view on preporation is that a group that had finished so poorly including against FAU, should have had all the motivation they needed. Toss in that the guy who pointed out that you only have 12 or so opportunities and not being up or motivated for a game should never be an excuse for a Gator player having the field named for him and to me this is a real problem and I put most of it on this staff. They need to have these guys ready to play the few times they get to play. As for the rain, another thing I learned from Spurrier is that bad weather favors the better team. Rain favors the more powerful team, but UF did or could not exploit the bad weather.

2. The main thing that I saw with Del Rio is his mediocre athleticism. He threw the ball decently as far as I am concerned, but he did not have much ability to move in the pocket due mainly to no quickness.

3. Maybe the TEs were less a factor because UF has WRs who can play some and a QB who can get the ball to WRs unlike the last part of last season.

4. I did not see an inordinate number of drops. The Callaway pass was a tipped, ie defended ball, and not a drop. I think any talk of drops was an attempt to keep Del Rio's confidence high.

5/6. I think Cox and Anzalone are good. As always in college football, good players leave every year and guys who were good the year before have expanded roles and the jury is out on how well they will do in the expanded roles. Still I see every reason to be optimistic about each of these two guys.

7. I am sorry for Massey, though I am not a big fan of the JUCO treadmill and really never expect anything out of any JUCO UF signs. Hopefully for his sake he can have a career at UF and make himself some money. I do not know if he had 2 to play 2 or 3 to play 2. If it is the former, maybe he was injured early enough in the season that he can be a full strength for the openner next year. I hope for his sake it is the latter and he can use this year as a medical redshirt year. I was encourage by the KO team Saturday and you are right UF should never be as terrible at KOs as it was last year.

To me the issue is 1/8 and the rest is just discussion. To me it is really on this coaching staff to start having their players ready to play with some fire in their bellies. As far as I can see this group did not come to play last year against FAU for sure and to some extent Vandy and SoCar. Now to have them start this year out with a similar flat effort makes me wonder.